Chelsea v Liverpool

Team: Slot has said he will rotate his squad in the last four games, so we could see some interesting selections, with the risk of some “interesting” results. Second guessing the team Slot will pick is very difficult, but with one eye on next season it would be good though to see some of the youngsters given an airing. Though, with the high standards set by the first team and the tendency to go out and buy top players or those on the cusp of becoming top players, it will be tough for any of the youngsters to break into the first team squad next season, or for that matter, any other season. We live in hope though that one or two will come through the ranks and give us a few years in the first team before running down their contract and joining Real Madrid….

Looking ahead to next season, obviously we need to strengthen further, but what will the other teams do and where will the threats come from? City have already started buying players and have the funds to buy more but Pep’s challenge will be to find the quality to replace established stars like KDB and then to integrate them which will take time, so I don’t think they will be our main challengers. Arsenal will also buy and no doubt a striker will be top priority. They may have hardly mentioned it, but apparently they did also suffer a few injuries this season. The question mark for me though is their mentality when the pressuire is on, but to be fair, they do make lovely bridesmaids. Chelsea play some nice football but seem to lack that killer instinct. They have a good young team that should get better, but only if the owner keeps his oar out, which he hasn’t managed to do so far. For me Newcastle might well end up being our main challengers next season, but again, that will depend on keeping the team together and adding quality to build a squad capable of maintaining a challenge. Other teams like Forest, Villa and Bournemouth I feel are still a good way short of a challenge and might struggle to hold onto their best players. Having looked at the contenders, I have to ask myself, can we do it again?